As an old fart that must take meds daily I am always interested in news that someone is making me spend less money to continue in good health.
Yesterday the news broke that Donny and his Magic Sharpie would go to work to bring down the cost of medication.
Prescription drugs taken by millions could soon become more affordable under a new executive order from President Donald Trump.
Trump plans to revive a policy from his first term that would require drug companies to charge Americans no more than what they charge in other countries.
According to officials familiar with the plan, Trump will sign an executive order next week instructing federal health agencies to adopt a ‘most favored nation’ pricing model for certain drugs covered by Medicare.
The model is designed to lower costs by ensuring the US pays no more than the lowest price charged elsewhere.
In many developed countries, single-payer systems allow governments to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies.
But in the US, a fragmented, privatized system gives drugmakers broad pricing power — with some medications costing up to 10 times more than abroad.
The order would mark a major shift in how pharmaceutical companies operate and could lead to lower drug prices for American consumers.
Industry leaders warn the move threatens profits and innovation, with one executive calling it the biggest ‘existential threat to the industry and U.S. biosciences innovation.’
Three people familiar with the matter told Politico the proposal is still being finalized and Trump has not approved any plans, but he did tease a ‘very big announcement’ that would be coming next week.
The president said: ‘We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make — like as big as it gets.
‘It will be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject.’
For decades the drug industry has used the old dodge of R&D to justify the high costs of medication prescriptions….and it will be used again and the lobbyists will descend on Congress to stop and progress on making drugs cheaper….
There is a story about one drug….
David Armstrong has been writing about sky-high health care costs and the tactics of Big Pharma for years. His latest story in ProPublica has a far more personal angle: After being diagnosed with cancer—multiple myeloma—in 2023, he started taking a drug called Revlimid made by Celgene. The great thing is that it works. The major downside is that it cost $1,000 for each daily pill, out of reach for many patients. “When I started taking the drug, I’d look at the smooth, cylindrical capsule in my hand and consider the fact I was about to swallow something that costs about the same as a new iPhone,” writes Armstrong. Why so much? That’s what Armstrong wondered, too. Some key points of his investigation:
- The first thing to know about Revlimid may be a surprise: It’s a derivative of thalidomide, the 1950s drug infamous for causing birth defects. But it’s been repurposed to fight multiple myeloma, and the story explains the mechanics, which involves blocking the growth of new blood vessels.
- The second thing to know is that it costs only 25 cents to manufacture a single pill, which Armstrong discovered in a deposition marked “highly confidential.”
- So how do you get from spending 25 cents to make a pill to charging $1,000? Think legal loopholes, FDA red tape, and plenty of doctor schmoozing to mute critics, all of which Armstrong details. In particular, the company’s legal battles have delayed the entry of generic competitors. “Those tactics, detailed in reams of court filings, allowed Celgene to treat Revlimid like a piggy bank, tapping it whenever it wanted,” writes Armstrong.” In fact, the company has hiked the price 26 times since its 2005 launch. The cost increases have only continued since Celgene was bought by Bristol Myers Squibb for $74 billion in 2019.
Will the Magic Sharpie actually make our drugs cheaper?
Damn good question!
I am not sure how this will work and if this will bring down my drug prices….and I am not alone….
…
Trump’s first-term rule—“Most Favored Nation”—was focused on lowering the cost of Medicare payments on certain drugs, but it barely made it out of the White House. The policy was blocked by federal courts shortly after it was announced in late 2020, and was then rescinded by President Joe Biden in 2021.
This time around, Trump’s order sets a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to negotiate lower prices. If there is no deal, then the U.S. will tie its drug prices to those paid by other countries. But as of now, nothing has changed.
Trump reiterated that the U.S. would no longer “subsidize” drug prices in other countries, telling reporters that the “game is up,” while alluding to potentially increasing auto tariffs if they don’t comply.
“If they want to get cute, they don’t have to sell cars into the United States anymore. They won’t get cute,” Trump said. “I’ll defend the drug companies from that standpoint.”
He was also characteristically vague on how much prices would change.
“Drug prices will come down by much more really if you think,” Trump said. “But between 59 and 80 and I guess even 90 percent.”
“We’re getting them down 60, 70, 80, 90 percent. But actually more than that if you think about it in a way, mathematically.”
https://newrepublic.com/post/195126/donald-trump-drug-prices-executive-order-nothing
I am not believing this for a minute, I want to but he has given us nothing in return for our patience….in other words he has lied to us before why should we believe him now?
I will watch and write.
If you depend on meds for your continued good health the surely you have something to say.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”